Italy has activated a surveillance device after detecting four possible contacts with the woman who died of hantavirus in Johannesburg, who had previously traveled on the cruise ship MV Hondius.
According to the Italian Ministry of Health, the four affected individuals were traveling on a KLM flight with a stopover in Rome, on which they coincided “for a few minutes” with the infected passenger.
Tracking in four regions
The authorities have identified the passengers and have transferred their data to the regions of Calabria, Campania, Tuscany, and Veneto, where the active surveillance protocols have been activated under the principle of maximum precaution.
In the case of Tuscany, one of the affected persons has already been located, a woman residing in Florence, who has been subjected to preventive quarantine while the necessary tests are carried out.
Brief contact but strict surveillance
Authorities have specified that contact with the deceased occurred during boarding and that it was not close or prolonged, which significantly reduces the risk.
Even so, the decision has been made to apply measures of “extreme caution”, including clinical monitoring throughout the incubation period and subsequent contact tracing.
International health coordination
The Ministry of Health has confirmed that it maintains activated the mechanisms of risk assessment and health coordination, in line with national and international protocols.
Furthermore, he has highlighted that an Italian doctor from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has been on board the MV Hondius since May 6, collaborating in the management of the outbreak.
Low risk for the population
Despite the activation of these protocols, the authorities have wanted to send a message of calm. Both the WHOas well as the ECDC itself consider that the current risk is “low at a global level and very low in Europe”.
The Italian Government insists that these are preventive measures within a surveillance system designed to anticipate any possible contagion, in a context that remains under health control.